STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State University will co-host with Texas Tech University a “learning tour” Nov. 2-3 in cooperation with University-School Partnerships for the Renewal of Education Preparation (US PREP). The event is for current and future coalition members as well as funders and those invested in educator preparation throughout the United States. 

The tour features site visits to partner schools, panel discussions and a variety of breakout sessions. Dr. Diane Stearns, Tarleton Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, will address the Nov. 2 dinner gathering.

The US PREP coalition of 21 university-based teacher preparation programs prepares more than one in every 20 new teachers annually. Its learning tours explore the support provided to these programs as they transition to a year-long clinical residency. 

Participants visit schools to see the teacher residents and their mentor teachers in the classroom, and they attend sessions to learn how coalition members have implemented this model of educator preparation.

Since 2020, Tarleton has scaled its residency program to be delivered at its Stephenville, Fort Worth and Waco campuses. Tarleton now works with the Stephenville, Granbury, Huckabay, Fort Worth, Waco, LaVega, Azle, Alvarado and Glen Rose ISDs as well as Uplift Academy. It is the fastest-scaled US PREP coalition program in the nation.

“We are pleased to work with our partners at US PREP and with Texas Tech University in support of the learning tour,” said Dr. Kim Rynearson, Dean of Tarleton’s College of Education. “Three years ago Tarleton attended a US PREP learning tour as a new coalition member. That experience kicked off the work of our faculty, staff and ISD partners to transform our educator preparation program. We hope that attendees are inspired and informed by what they see and learn at this convening.”

Tarleton residents work alongside a cooperating teacher with the support of a site coordinator who links the district and the university.

Benefits to the students include extended, hands-on practice; part-time work in partner districts; and priority consideration for full-time employment. District partners gain the advantage of “growing their own” and the opportunity to hire first-year teachers who have been mentored during a year of apprenticeship.

The coalition’s school-university partners share the mission of attracting, training and retaining high-quality, racially diverse teachers for underserved communities.

Tarleton State University is part of a Texas A&M University System campaign that encourages teaching as a career. The A&M System’s 11 universities produce the most fully certified teachers of any university system in Texas.

A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of nearly 17,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. True to Tarleton’s values of excellence, integrity and respect, academic programs emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.